Under My Skin @ The Little Shubert Theater

When first hearing the name Under My Skin for a current Off-Broadway production, one may be left to their imagination to wonder about what exactly this new production is all about. Have no fear! If you enjoyed Disney’s 2003 film Freaky Friday, which starred Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, you’re in for a fun night at the theatre with a much different spin on this classic tale.

Under My Skin, a new play written by Robert Sternin and Prudence Fraser, takes a different spin on the classic tale of misunderstanding which leads to a physical switch in bodies with one character becoming the other and vice versa. In Under My Skin, we find ourselves at a health insurance company where the boss, Harrison Badish III, and part time worker, Melody Dent, find themselves switched after a near death experience. However, not longer after switching loves and seeing how the other half lives, they find themselves with very different perspectives of each other.

Broadway veteran Kerry Butler stars as Melody in the piece and really helps carry the production as a whole. Bulter not only delivers as herself but even more so as Badish when the two switch bodies. Her take on the male role in a relationship overall is one that had the audience laughing through most of the show. Matt Walton stars as Badish in the piece and manages to go from typical corporate boss to understanding co-worker by the end. He embraces his feminine side and manages to have the audience loving his take on the female gender.

The hilarious Dierdre Friel stars as Angel, who is quite literally an Angel, who sets up this situation from the very start. Friel is hilarious and consistently wins over the audience every time she steps onto the stage. From hilarious one-liners to jokes about life and the afterlife, she is hands down one of the best pieces of this entire production.

The other cast members weave their way in and out of the production taking on various roles in different situations and never repeating one once.  Special shout out to Andrew Polk who play the Dr. Hurtz among many other roles. He always appeared comically throughout the piece and really stole the multiple scenes he appeared in. Also, the beautiful Kate Loprest who starred as Victoria and others won the audience over many times. From the hilarious news reporter to Badish’s girlfriend, she had the audience wanting more from her each time she was on stage.

The show features some fun lighting, designed by Driscoll Otto, but overall the technical elements for Under My Skin are lackluster. The Little Shubert Theatre feels much too big for this intimate piece and it feels as though they have stretched out Stephen Dobay’s scenic design to fill the space.

All in all, Under My Skin is a good night at the theatre that is sure to be filled with laughs. While some jokes fall and occasionally the book is predictable, the show itself is fun and has a lot of talent on the stage. I would love to see this piece not only move a smaller space but a more centralized one so audiences can enjoy this delightful new comedy.

Review By: Chris Luner

The Velocity of Autumn @ The Booth Theater

Growing old is never easy. It doesn’t get easier when your aging mother locks herself in her house and threatens to burn it the ground since your siblings won’t leave her alone. That is the essence of the story one can expect when stepping into The Booth Theatre on Broadway to experience the brand new play, The Velocity of Autumn now in performances.

Written by Eric Coble, the story profiles an aging woman Alexandra who has locked herself inside her brown stone in Park Slope and is threatening to burn the place down if her two children don’t leave her alone and let her be. It is only when a surprise appearance by her third child occurs, literally surprising her as he climbs into the second story of her house, that things begin to shift. Her son, Chris, sits down and talks with her. He doesn’t have to plead with her because before he knows it, which comes out of their conversations in which he has with her simply catching up on all he has missed since he has been gone.

Estelle Parsons stars as Alexandra in the new piece and delivers a stirring performance as the aging mother of three. Parsons brings to life a character many audience members instantly connect with from their own lives. She delivers several emotional monologues including one about losing herself as she ages, which really connects with the audience. As the play goes on, she not only finds herself more vulnerable but also leaves the audience more vulnerable a well. Through her, we better understand our role as caretakers to those in our lives who we help. We realize we must not talk down or belittle their actions as they already doing it themselves constantly. I feel confident in saying; this piece would not be possible without Parsons at the helm.

Stephen Spinella stars as Chris in the production and gives Parsons a run for her money delivering an equally as impressive performance. Spinella connects to many of the audience members who are also taking care of their parents and channels the emotions and actions many of us have taken with those we deem older. However, Spinella’s connection to his mother is one of a kind. He not only channels a person we all are at times but shows us how easily we can change the way we handle situations simply by switching how we look at it. Much like Parsons, he delivers several beautiful monologues about life and also has a few hilarious New York jokes you can’t help but crack up over. He is definitely not overshadowed by Parsons performance and is a great actor to play such a role.

As for the technical elements of the production, there is a unit set apartment, designed by Eugene Lee, which is capped off by a giant, beautiful tree just outside the residence. I won’t give away the symbolism in it but I will add there is some fantastic lighting as the day progresses designed by Rui Rita.

I feel like my lack of a recommendation to run to see The Velocity of Autumn comes from my lack of experience in such a situation as the play puts forth. However, it did connect with an overwhelming amount of the audience who left buzzing regarding their similar situations to the play they just witnessed. And while I can’t say I connected with The Velocity of Autumn at this point in my life personally, I can say that when that time comes, I feel as though I will be able to better approach said situation having seen this piece.

Review By: Chris Luner
Photos By: Joan Marcus

Heathers: The Musical @ New World Stages Stage 1

Hold onto your hats 80’s cult movie fans! A new musical adaptation of your favorite 80’s movie Heathers has been turned into a stage musical and is the must see Off-Broadway production of the 2014 season! Filled with memorable songs, a hilarious script and ridiculously talented cast, Heathers: The Musical restores your faith in the theatre world’s ability to take a known movie title and transfer it into a success stage production.

Heathers: The Musical, which features a book, music and lyrics by Kevin Murphy and Laurence O’Keefe, is essentially your Mean Girls of the 1980s. Its September 1989 at Westerberg High School and the entire school is being terrorized by the “Heathers”. These girls manage to get away with just about anything until newcomer J.D. Dean comes along and decides to put them in their place. With the help of Veronica Sawyer, together J.D. and Veronica help destroy the high school society’s they know only to learn even more things they wish they never knew in this hilarious new musical loving ripped off of the screenplay of the same title by Daniel Waters. There is major credit that needs to be given to Murphy and O’Keefe who have just landed an A plus across the board when it comes to the score and script with this production. The focus is clear. The piece moves very well and you never find yourself waiting for another musical number. Oh, about the musical numbers. They deliver memorable song after memorable song with a score of A plus tunes. You can tell O’Keefe has put his classic charming touch onto the songs with it being about something ridiculous only to come across with a lyric that smacks you right in the face. “You are the only right thing about this broken world” sticks out in my mind.

Barrett Wilbert Weed stars as Veronica Sawyer and gives a stand out performance with strong acting choices and solid vocals throughout the entire piece. She is a knockout and clear force of talent. Weed wins you over from the very beginning as she narrates her journey from average girl to Heather sidekick to God or Gods unwilling assistant as her and J.D. takes matters into their own hands over time. Speaking of, J.D. Dean played by Ryan McCartan is a strong force to be reckoned with as the productions leading man. He makes bold acting choices throughout the pieces and also enjoys some really beautiful moments throughout the score. Weed and McCartan share a beautiful chemistry on stage you can’t help but love.

The Heathers, played by Jessica Keenan Wynn (Heather Chandler), Elle McLemore (Heather McNamara) and Alice Lee (Heather Duke) are over the top ridiculous in all the ways you want them to be. From their first entrance to songs like “Candy Store”, they are your quintessential plastics of high school. They’re so evil in what they do; you can’t help but love them. Evan Todd who stars as Kurt and Jon Eidson who stars as Ram deliver hilarious performances as your typical high school jocks. They’re over the top choices and ridiculous antics show just how far we’ve come since the 1980’s but the nonsense we can still manage to get away with in high school.

The ensemble is filled with all of your typical high school stereotypes (Nerds, Goth, Cheerleaders) that also double as adult roles throughout the piece. The ensemble is consistently present but not in the way where they become bothersome or distracting. They only add to the story with their vocals and help bring to life some of the largest and most vibrant numbers of the entire production.

Heathers: The Musical not only scores when it comes to the production’s talent but also it’s technical elements. Timothy R. Mackabee provides a simple and yet adequate scenic design that allows for characters to move freely about and doesn’t leave us crammed for when it comes to the bigger production numbers. Amy Clark gives us a beautiful costume design and Jonny Massena’s sound design is spot on when it comes to not only mixing in the band with the vocals but for the special cues as well. The be all to end all of the technical elements is the ridiculous lighting design provided by Jason Lyons. His lighting designs shines (No pun intended) as bright as the stars themselves or even brighter as he hits you with cue after cue of rolling effects, beautiful mixes and fantastic marks.

Do yourself a favor and make sure to get to experience Heathers: The Musical now in performances at New World Stages. It will restore your faith in musical theatre film adaptations but more importantly, it will restore your faith in theatre. Heathers not only brings to life a hilarious cult movie on the stage but an important topic in society with youngsters and how we define ourselves. While I’ll let them be sure to teach you everything you need to know, all you need to know from me is that like the anthem of this production, it is Beautiful.

Review By: Chris Luner
Photos By: Chad Batka

Tales from Red Vienna @ New York City Center Stage 1

Travel back in time to Vienna to experience a wonderful story filled with comedy, hope and romance in the world premiere production of Tales From Red Vienna at New York City Center’s Stage 1 produced by Manhattan Theatre Club.

Tales From Red Vienna is written by David Grimm and tells the story of a young woman, Helena, who finds herself living a double life. After her husband’s death, Helena does what she must to keep herself functioning in society. However, how society views her as compared to how her friends view her are two entirely separate looks. However, when Bella Hoyos shows up, he has the chance to ruin everything and expose Helena for who she actually is.

Nina Arianda stars as Helena Altman and once again proves herself on the New York Stage. Arianda, best known for her Tony Award winning performance in Venus in Fur, captivates the audience from moment one and brings forth an instant connection we can all make. She is outstanding and she hits every emotional spectrum throughout the piece and brings to life the young girl trapped in a life she clearly never planned for. Michael Esper stars opposite as the lovable Bella Hoyos who you can’t help but fall for. While at first he may appear slimy in his ways, hang in there. Esper proves not only himself but the character in the end showing that there is more to people than we see at first.

Tina Benko stars as the hilarious Mutzi von Fessendorf who can’t seem to get enough of life despite having it all. She proves as a comedic force throughout the piece with her consistent over the top appearances.  Speaking of comedy, Kathleen Chalfant, who stars as Edda Schmidt, will have you laughing nonstop during her time on stage. From consistently drinking to her hilarious one-liners, Chalfant makes most of her time on stage bringing the audience to joyous moments repeatedly.  Lucas Hall makes the most of his minimal time on stage starring as Karl Hupka. During his short time on stage, his character brings to life someone the audience not only grows to dislike but doesn’t want to see as he looms over the production making statements and gestures we unfortunately know people deal with in real life relationships daily. Michael Goldsmith stars as the adorable Rudy Zuckermaier. Despite his short appearance as well, his moments on stage matter in the sense of relationships and a sense we have all felt before; hopelessness. He is an important stepping-stone in this show’s gradual rise to it’s ending.

The show is performed in three acts with two intermissions. You will be transported to Vienna in the 1920’s through the scenic design provided by John Lee Beatty and the costume design by Anita Yavich. Peter Kacorowski’s lighting design plays perfectly off the scenic and costume elements given to him and create beautiful pictures throughout much of the piece. Rob Milburn and Michael Boddeen provide a great sound design with fantastic music that appear consistently throughout the production.

 

One may never know if the Tales From Red Vienna are true or not. While a tale is defined as a story that is imaginatively recounted, I think the recounting here is in what is the most important things that matter in our every day lives. People matter. Connections matter. What we do and what we do not do matters. But most importantly, love matters.

Review By: Chris Luner

Photos By: Sara Krulwich